For Professionals

If you are a GP or other Health Professional looking to make links with the NHS Health Improvement Team, this page contains all the information that you need to know. We offer Health Improvement Programmes around Weight Management, Smoking and Mental Health which patients can be referred to. For more information and for the referral pathway please have a look below:

The Referral Pathway

We offer programmes around weight management, smoking and mental health, but sometimes it is unclear to the Health Professional when and where to refer patients to - this should make things easier to understand. You can print your own version of this pathway HERE!

Advice for Health Professionals on...

Smoking

Brief Advice - A 30-second chat can be lifesaving! As professionals, we can support our patients/clients/service users who smoke to quit by asking: 'How do you feel about your smoking?' And: 'Would you like support to quit?' If they would like to quit, or are considering giving up, then they can self-refer to any of the services above, or you can refer them by contacting the practitioner in the patient's local area. A smoking cessation advisor will then be in touch with the person to discuss options and arrange the most appropriate support. You can download your own version of these documents here and here:

Physical Activity

If the flow chat has been followed and the patient is requiring a brief intervention or advise, the Health Improvement Team are happy to help with this. You can refer your patients through to us for advice, materials and goal setting with one of our practitioners. Download the leaflet here and here:

Weight Mangement

We run weight loss programmes from both adult and children. The adult programme is Counterweight, whilst the children is the SCOTT programme, more of which can be found here. If you feel a patient can benefit from joining one of the programmes you can refer them to the Health Improvement Team where they will meet with one of our Health Practitoners and be taken through the programme. These helpful tools can be used to help determine if a patient is suitable for our programme, they can be dowloaded here and here:

Alcohol

Here in the Health Improvement Officer we are luck enough to have Wendy McConnachine, The Alcohol & Drugs Development Officer, sit with us. She is the guru on all programmes, courses and everything in between to do with drugs and alcohol. If you are interested in finding out more about how to make links with her, you can contact her through us at Healthy Shetland. These useful tools are helpful to identify those who may be struggling with alcohol addictions, they can be downloaded here and here:

Also, if you think that an individual could benefit from Falls Prevention Strength & Balance Classes please get in touch with Shelley Sandison - Falls Prevention Coordinator for more information and to refer - shelleysandison@nhs.net

If you feel an individual could benefit from a free fire home safety visit, please complete a Home Fire Safety Visit form and send to the local Scottish Fire and Rescue Service which you can find at the bottom of the referral form.

For any other information or questions about the referal process please don't hesitate to contact us at Health Improvement on: 0159580794 or info@healthyshetland.com

At this busy time of year, it’s easy for viruses which cause diarrhoea and vomiting, often known as the “spewy bug”, to be passed on. Anyone can catch the virus, but children are often more susceptible through socialising, school and parties. Know what to do if you/your child catches the spewy bug and how to prevent the spread of it.